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Good porter recipe?
I've decided to make a cinnamon-vanilla porter for the holidays to give out as a gift at my Christmas party next month and was wondering if anyone has a good extract porter recipe? I'm looking for something farily smooth (not too bitter) with some nice roastiness. Something that the cinnamon and vanilla will compliment well.
Don't have any grand porter recipes, however I did try brewing a vanilla bean porter once. I just used a porter recipe out of a home brew book (homebrew bible i think) anyway I added whole vanilla beans (4 whole beans) to the last 10 minutes of the boil. It was an interesting beer, to me the vanilla was a little overpowering it gave the beer kind of a rum flavor. Im not a big fan of rum (bad experience with 151) so this was not my favorite brew, however my wife loved it. Closest comparison I could come up with (for vanilla taste) would be AB's bourbon cask ale. Anyway I guess I would just recommend going easy on the vanilla especially if you want the cinnamon to notes to come out. hope this helps.
You might try Goat Scrotum Ale from the Joy of Homebrewing if you have the book. Its a good recipe for a darker beer.
You might try Goat Scrotum Ale from the Joy of Homebrewing if you have the book. Its a good recipe for a darker beer.
Don't have the book, but I googled the recipe. It looks pretty good, but might be a bit too bitter and not as rich and malty as what I'm looking to brew. I'm really looking to brew a smooth and spicy porter similar to Breckenridge Vanilla porter, but with more of a balanced spice and malt character as opposed to just straight vanilla. I do enjoy Breckenridges version, but it does lean heavily on the vanilla side. I worked up a recipe, but don't have it with me at the moment. I'll have to post it later. I will say that I plan on adding high grade vanilla extract to the secondary, but just not sure how much to add. I think I read something where someone recommended 3 tablespoons, but not sure.
How about a Brown Porter style ale, and you could delicately spice it with vanilla and cinnamon at bottling time to your tastes.
Brown Porter
Here's a link to a vanilla porter recipe. Never tried it but it sounds good. I/m not fond of the robust porters but this recipe looks like a mild porter with vanilla so it's something i might even consider myself. I make a very good sweet stout that would probably work good with vanilla if you're interested. It's mild for a stout and it won 2nd place in the stout catagory in a local contest this summer. It doesn't have any vanilla in it but you could probably use the amount in the porter recipe in the link.
http://www.brewersconnection.com/recipe … Porter.htm
DC
Jarrod wrote:
You might try Goat Scrotum Ale from the Joy of Homebrewing if you have the book. Its a good recipe for a darker beer.
Actually, I have had this beer before. I belonged to a homebrew club a couple years ago (very briefly), and one guy made it. Stupid name, but his beer had a LOT of compliments... I don't recall the details, but if I still remember it 3 years later, it was good.
A few other guys recommended he enter it in a contest. Very good recipe.
One thing I will add about the cinnamon and vanilla... go sparingly. I used to add a bunch of a flavoring because I thought it would be so much better. It usually doesn't work that way. Cinnamon is pretty powerful, and so are vanilla beans. Go easy on those. If I were making a beer with cinnamon and had sticks, I probably wouldn't use more than 1 to begin with. You can always add, not subtract from the finished product.
Just my thoughts.
cubx wrote:
One thing I will add about the cinnamon and vanilla... go sparingly. I used to add a bunch of a flavoring because I thought it would be so much better. It usually doesn't work that way. Cinnamon is pretty powerful, and so are vanilla beans. Go easy on those. If I were making a beer with cinnamon and had sticks, I probably wouldn't use more than 1 to begin with. You can always add, not subtract from the finished product.
Just my thoughts.
I agree with that entirely. Which is why sometimes I like to work with adding this stuff at bottling time if possible. It can be tricky depending on the ingredient, to get an estimate of final taste. But going low at first may be the best way.
I suppose adding a little in secondary waiting a few days and tasting, then adjusting would be a good way too.
Kegging would be a great way with cinnamon and vanilla beans. Just thow in a couple sticks and beans, then taste the beer periodically, once the flavor is on the money. Push the beer to a clean keg!
Thanks for all the great feedback!
How about a Brown Porter style ale, and you could delicately spice it with vanilla and cinnamon at bottling time to your tastes.
Brewchez, the recipe seems intriguiing. I've somewhat altered my original recipe to match some of what you was included in your Brown Porter.
Malts
6.5lbs Amber Malt Extract
12oz Crystal 60L
6oz Malto-Dextrin
4oz British Black Patent
4oz British Chocolate
Hops
1oz Northern Brewer @ 60min
1oz Willamette/Fuggles @ 15min
Yeast
I was thinking of using the WLP002 originally, but then started reading about the slow fermentation times and lower attenuation, so I went with the WLP005 after reading how it provides the same flavor characteristics as the WLP002 but ferments quicker w/ higher attenuation. I will need this one to be done fairly quick for the holidays.
OG 1.057
FG 1.016
ABV 5.5%
IBUs 24.5
My plan is to boil probably 1 or 2 cinamon sticks the last 10 min of the boil. I can always add one to the secondary if I feel it needs more. I'll be adding the vanilla extract to the secondary, but still unsure of how much to add initially. I know it's recommended to add incrementally and taste, but I always have a tough time judging the flavor of my young, uncarbed beers. Cubx, good advice on adding additional flavorings sparingly. I definetily don't want to end up with a fried ice cream float to give out as gifts!
cubx wrote:
Jarrod wrote:
You might try Goat Scrotum Ale from the Joy of Homebrewing if you have the book. Its a good recipe for a darker beer.
Actually, I have had this beer before. I belonged to a homebrew club a couple years ago (very briefly), and one guy made it. Stupid name, but his beer had a LOT of compliments... I don't recall the details, but if I still remember it 3 years later, it was good.
A few other guys recommended he enter it in a contest. Very good recipe.
Yep its good I have brewed it. Its one of those "throw everything but the kitchen sink" into the beer beers...
If I were making a beer with cinnamon and had sticks, I probably wouldn't use more than 1 to begin with.
Cubx, i got to thinking. What size cinnamon sticks were you talking about? Just the small 3 inch or so ones?
Brewed this one up yesterday, but had to make some subs based on what I could get my hands on at the homebrew store. Ended up using 6.5lbs of Pilsner LME instead of amber (this was all they had in bulk and I wanted the fresh stuff). Used Williamette hops...1oz at 60min, .5oz at 20min, and .5oz at 5min. My calculated IBUs coming in around 19. I also went with the Nottingham dy yeast instead of the WLP005 for the convenience. I ended up adding 1 cinnamon stick at 10min and 1 at 5 min left in the boil. Nice spicy chocolate aroma those last 5 min....yum!
OG reading came in on the higher end of what I figured at 1.059.
According to the wife this one is moving along nice and steady at around 70 degrees as I write this. I would love to take my time with this one, but I'm going to need to have it ready by the time my Christmas Party roles around (Dec. 20th). I'm hoping to bottle it in a week, but we'll see what the ole hydrometer says when the time comes!
lukeduke wrote:
According to the wife this one is moving along nice and steady at around 70 degrees as I write this. I would love to take my time with this one, but I'm going to need to have it ready by the time my Christmas Party roles around (Dec. 20th). I'm hoping to bottle it in a week, but we'll see what the ole hydrometer says when the time comes!
Even without the hydrometer reading I'd wait until at least the 5th to bottle. at 1060OG you'll really want to get that extra 5-7 days in primary in for a complete ferment. By complete ferment I mean what happens to beer after the sugars are all fermented. I think this is even more crucial with dry yeasts.
If you bottle on the 5th, and keep it at 70-72F to condition it should be primed up fine by the 20th.
Even without the hydrometer reading I'd wait until at least the 5th to bottle. at 1060OG you'll really want to get that extra 5-7 days in primary in for a complete ferment. By complete ferment I mean what happens to beer after the sugars are all fermented. I think this is even more crucial with dry yeasts.
Yeah, I guess it would be more beneficial to allow for my time to "clean up" in the primary as opposed to more time in the bottle to carb. I can probably make myself bottle on the 5th. I hate bottling...
Fermentation is really taking off on this one. The airlock was going to town when I got home yesterday at 72 degrees. When I got up this morning, it was still going full bore, but the temp had gone up to 76, which is warmer than I want it to be. This is at least 8 degrees warmer than the temp in the room it's in. I'm hoping it cools off some today with the heat vent closed and with a fan blowing on it. I'm afraid to cool it off too much and have the fermentation stop completely.
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